How to use HomePod with Apple TV … it mostly works but there are some drawbacks

Apple does not promote HomePod as a TELEVISION speaker in any of its marketing, however it’s a concern we have actually got a lot over the previous couple weeks. With AirPlay, it’s extremely possible to link HomePod to Apple TELEVISION and utilize it as your TELEVISION speaker … with some cautions and disadvantages to think about.

For some individuals, it might make good sense to do it. I believe for lots of it will not. There are some suggestions and techniques to make utilizing HomePod with Apple TELEVISION a much better experience …

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For individuals that currently have actually committed hifi speaker systems for their tv, linking up a HomePod most likely does not provide you anything much better than exactly what you currently have. It’s indicated as a practical music speaker for the cooking area or a bed room or a living location.

A HomePod will sound much better than the internal speakers of a television, the issue is linking it up. You’ll require an Apple TELEVISION for a start; either the fourth-generation 2015 Apple TELEVISION or fifth-generation 4K Apple TELEVISION from 2017.

To link HomePod to Apple TELEVISION, you have to utilize AirPlay. There are a number of methods to link to AirPlay speakers in tvOS. You can clearly browse through Settings … however thankfully Apple TELEVISION consists of a couple faster ways to make this much easier.

Swipe to expose the details panel. Usage Siri Remote to choose the HomePod in the Audio menu.

For apps that utilize the system video gamer (the majority of them), you can just swipe down to expose the details panel and slide throughout to Audio. The HomePod will look like an audio output.

If you aren’t playing material, you can link to HomePod with a brand-new faster way presented in tvOS11 From the house screen, simply hold down the play/pause button on the Siri Remote.

From the house screen, hold down the Play/Pause button to expose this AirPlay menu.

This brand-new AirPlay Audio Sources screen appears. It will reveal all the speakers and Apple Televisions in your house. From here, it takes simply a 2nd to scroll down and set the HomePod as the output for the existing Apple TELEVISION.

Utilizing HomePod with Apple TELEVISION is absolutely practical however there are some disadvantages that describe why Apple isn’t really promoting it as a TELEVISION speaker always. For a start, the absence of wired inputs indicates you can just utilize HomePod with Apple TELEVISION. Other inputs on your TELEVISION will have to utilize other speakers for noise. Some cable-cutters actually can get away with simply utilizing an Apple TELEVISION as their only set-top box. For me, I might utilize HomePod for my Apple TELEVISION material and depend on the TELEVISION’s internal speakers for other channels as an alternative.

If that constraint is a dealbreaker, you must stop checking out now. You must think about something like a Sonos Playbar, which is created for this type of usage (and will ultimately support AirPlay 2 later).

With that in mind, there are some other gotchas to watch out for. AirPlay cordless procedure has a fundamental lag, a few seconds, due to network latency.

Apple TELEVISION makes up for this in some contexts. Any app that utilizes native media gamers (like iTunes Movies, Plex and much more) the onscreen video was synced as much as the audio nearly precisely. tvOS hold-ups the video frames to represent the 2-second hold-up in sending out the audio. When stopping briefly and avoiding in between points in the video, the UI freezes whilst it waits on the HomePod to be in sync once again.

You’ll need to wait somewhat longer than typical when avoiding through a video, linked to AirPlay.

When utilizing custom-made apps like video games that need constant interaction, the lag is inescapable. If you are among the couple of individuals who play a great deal of video games on Apple TELEVISION, do not think of utilizing a HomePod with it. Audio reaction to any input is just postponed excessive.

The other huge thing to think of when utilizing Apple TELEVISION with HomePod is whether the HomePod is just going to be utilized as a TELEVISION speaker, or if you still wish to utilize the clever speaker abilities of HomePod routinely.

If you are AirPlay linked to HomePod on Apple TELEVISION, and after that ask the HomePod specific things like ‘play some music’ the TELEVISION noise is cut off and changed by the playlist. When you stop playing music, the Apple TELEVISION does not constantly immediately reconnect with the HomePod. It does in some cases, however not constantly. I have not rather exercised a pattern here.

In these cases, you have to dive back into the Audio alternatives and reselect HomePod as the sound output. In the HomePod settings in the House app, you can disable ‘Hey Siri’ performance completely which might be exactly what you desire for your ‘TELEVISION’ HomePod.

Likewise, if you believe you can utilize the Hey Siri functions of HomePod to browse the Apple TELEVISION, you are most likely not in the target audience here. Siri on HomePod can not change the Siri Remote’s Siri functions; you can do fundamental things like play and time out and change volume though with voice commands.

On the topic of volume, AirPlaying anything to HomePod appears to restrict the optimum volume of the HomePod– consisting of Apple TELEVISION output. At a guess, it just gets about 80% as loud compared with playing music straight from the HomePod with Siri. I’m not actually sure why this is. It does not make a significant distinction in functionality. 100% volume on HomePod is overkill for nearly everybody, few individuals will utilize HomePod at that volume level. The (inexplicably-limited) optimum AirPlay volume is loud enough.

If anything, HomePod suits nicely on a TELEVISION stand.

If you are on a budget plan or reside in a smaller sized house like a flat or house, it might make good sense to have HomePod as the only speakers in your home. It does feel a bit redundant to have a HomePod sitting beside a house hifi system that is linked to the TELEVISION. For some individuals, Apple TELEVISION and HomePod interoperability will be beneficial. This is definitely an edge-case instead of meant usage of the gadget, however, as highlighted by the above disadvantages.

There are some prospective things Apple might do to make Apple TELEVISION and HomePod work much better together. The business has actually currently revealed stereo pairing coming quickly, which might make 2 HomePods seriously contend as house theater audio options. A future tvOS/HomePod software application upgrade might include an unique ‘TELEVISION Mode’ which indicates it does not lose the AirPlay connection as often, and permits the voice input from HomePod to be utilized as the Apple TELEVISION’s Siri receiver.

Whether these type of functions are on Apple’s roadmap is unidentified. The business definitely has actually drifted clear of associating Apple TELEVISION and HomePod in marketing to this day. The variation 1.0 is quite indicated as a premium clever music gamer. It stays to be seen how rapidly the software application progresses.

Some individuals with specific setups and spaces will be extremely pleased with Apple TELEVISION and HomePod as a combination. For me, it’s not sufficient.